Report and track Flock camera locations — a community driven resource
If you spotted a small rectangular camera mounted on a utility pole or street sign in Ellis County, it's almost certainly a Flock Safety ALPR license plate reader — not a traffic camera, not a security camera. Here's how to confirm it.
Six visual features that distinguish Flock Safety ALPR cameras from traffic cameras, security cameras, and other pole-mounted devices. Ellis County, Texas.
Three hardware variants are deployed across the US. Ellis County, Texas.
7 Flock Safety ALPR cameras have been reported in Ellis County, Texas by community members. 7 have been independently verified.
Texas has no statewide ALPR retention law, and the state has one of the highest concentrations of Flock Safety cameras in the country. Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio all have extensive deployments, as do thousands of HOAs and private communities. The Texas Legislature has not enacted ALPR-specific privacy legislation despite several introduced bills.
It's almost certainly a Flock Safety ALPR (Automatic License Plate Reader). These devices photograph every passing vehicle's license plate, timestamp, and direction of travel. 7 have been documented in Ellis County by community members on this map.
Traffic cameras are typically larger, mounted at intersections on signal arms, and face the road horizontally. Flock Safety cameras are smaller (roughly 8×5 inches), mounted on utility poles or fence posts at 8–12 ft, and often have a visible IR LED ring and a small solar panel. They are not connected to traffic signals.
Cameras can be operated by local police departments, HOAs, private businesses, or neighborhood associations. Flock Safety sells directly to all of these groups. The operator is not always disclosed publicly, which is why community mapping efforts like this one exist.